It’s Friday, But Sunday is Coming

Several years ago, I got to hear Tony Campolo speak. Tony has been writing and preaching since the 1980s, bringing people to Jesus in numbers we can’t even imagine. When I saw Tony speak, he gave what is now a rather famous sermon. It’s called “It’s Friday, But Sunday’s Coming!”

In this sermon, Tony does an incredible job of balancing pain and hope. He does not deny the suffering and hardship of Jesus dying on the cross on Friday. But he knows that the victory is won when Jesus rises from the grave on Sunday. (You can listen to the original sermon here.)

As Tony says in the sermon:

“It’s Friday… Jesus was nailed to and died on a cross.But it’s only Friday; Sunday’s coming!It’s Friday… Mary’s crying her eyes out ‘cause her son is dead.But it’s only Friday; Sunday’s coming!It’s Friday… The disciples are running around like sheep without a shepherd.But it’s only Friday; Sunday’s coming!”

I can relate to the weight of that Friday. Right now our world feels like a Friday with all that is happening with COVID-19.

It’s Friday… We are afraid as people we love are getting sick.It’s Friday… We are sheltering at home and social distancing.It’s Friday… Our world’s economy is falling apart. Many have lost their jobs.It’s Friday… We just don’t know when this is going to end.

Sometimes I feel like Mary, wanting to cry, while other times I feel like the disciples, lost and uncertain with no clue what to do. But I believe in a God who was, is, and is to come. Are these hard and uncertain times? Absolutely. It is Friday. But Sunday is coming.

I believe we need to do all we can do to prepare for “Sunday” when our world returns to some kind of normal. Our world will be different, but in many areas of our lives, including fundraising, we need to be ready. Now and in the future we need to care for donors and invite them to be a part of what we are doing, but how we do this now and in the future has changed.

In light of preparing for Sunday, The FOCUS Group is hosting 12 webinars over the next two weeks on a variety of topics. Our amazing consultant team and I will be leading these webinars. We each chose our topics based on what we thought would best prepare us for today’s reality and the Sunday that is surely coming.

I wonder if, without Tony’s message, that powerful word might never have gotten out past Lockridge’s congregation — but God has now used it to encourage so many people across the country on a day like today.